Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) Shares Bought by Byrne Asset Management LLC

Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Chesapeake Utilities Co. (NYSE:CPK) by 114.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 270 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Chesapeake Utilities were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CPK. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Chesapeake Utilities by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 11,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $767,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 110,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $13,402,000 after purchasing an additional 4,632 shares during the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Chesapeake Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $4,632,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Chesapeake Utilities by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 12,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. 83.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chesapeake Utilities Price Performance

Shares of CPK opened at $119.26 on Friday. Chesapeake Utilities Co. has a 1-year low of $102.64 and a 1-year high of $136.73. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE:CPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $298.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.45 million. Chesapeake Utilities had a net margin of 14.16% and a return on equity of 9.08%. Chesapeake Utilities’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Chesapeake Utilities Co. will post 5.39 EPS for the current year.

Chesapeake Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.685 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from Chesapeake Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Chesapeake Utilities’s payout ratio is 50.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CPK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chesapeake Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Chesapeake Utilities from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Chesapeake Utilities to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th.

Chesapeake Utilities Company Profile

Chesapeake Utilities Corporation operates as an energy delivery company. The company operates through two segments, Regulated Energy and Unregulated Energy. The Regulated Energy segment natural gas distribution operations in central and southern Delaware, Maryland's eastern shore, and Florida; regulated natural gas transmission in the Delmarva Peninsula, Ohio, and Florida; and regulated electric distribution in northeast and northwest Florida.